Ban Ki-moon praises Argentina's commitment with the UN and cooperation with other countries

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon applauded on Monday Argentina's commitment and strong partnership with the UN and its cooperation with other countries. Ban Ki-moon arrived in Buenos Aires from Paraguay and previously from Brazil where he was part of the inauguration of the Rio Olympic Games. Read full article

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is right in his assessment.
Indeed, Mauricio Macri's promise to reach poverty zero is closer to reality; poverty is being actively and efficiently reduced--through elimination of the poor.

Mr. Ban also commended the country’s thrust towards energy diversification...
He is right!!
Many Argentines are now using alternative sources of energy, such as coal, to heat their homes, after recent wild increases of gas prices.

@5 Many Argentines are now using alternative sources of energy, such as coal, to heat their homes, after recent wild increases of gas prices.

Reekie reveals once again his lack of understanding of Argentina and its history, as well as its current condition.

Argentina has only one current significant coal mining operation, now producing very little, on the frontier with Chile in Santa Cruz province. The Turbio coal is of poor quality -- so poor in fact that the Kirchnerist project to use the high-ash but poor energy-output Argentine coal for a power plant (usina) in Río Turbio was a characteristic Kirchnerist failure. It makes little sense to transport this junk to other parts of the country. Here in Río Gallegos we have a scrap yard full of old locomotives and related rusting junk from the days when Argentina transported the low-grade coal from just a few km from Pacific waters, all the way to the Atlantic port of Punta Loyola (AR refused to cooperate with Chile to build a Pacific port).

Because for many years Argentina could not figure out how to develop its own industrial energy sources, the British did so, and introduced British (and later Australian) coal to Argentina. With WWII and Argentina's secretly siding with the Axis, the British stopped supplying coal to Argentina, so that the bastards could starve and freeze in the darkness. There were some minor outcroppings exploited out of desperation (one near Bariloche - now abandoned), but the Río Turbio coal, as bad as it was, represented the only significant replacement for British coal. The crybaby leftist media in Argentina are trying to convince the world that the hierba-suckers are burning the furniture to stay warm this winter.

As far as increases in gas prices --- Argentine residences pay on average about one tenth of what Brazilian residences pay for natural gas, per cubic metre. But the Argentines cry ten times as much for having to pay one-tenth the cost. Esnif.

#7 Marti
My bad, Marti!
I did not mean to prompt a history lesson on Rio Turbio's coal.
I should have written charcoal which is what Argentines traditionally use as an alternative to gas heating power.
As for your crybaby statements, I should point out that the government has finally backtracked: Energy Minister Aranguren will appear before Congress in the coming week, to explain the now famous Tarifazo.
Oh, and we Argentines do not suck hierba. We drink Mate, which is made out of Yerba Mate.
Come back to MP's Comments Section, where you can learn something new every day!

Reekie, so you finally understand that because of the ludicrous subsidies, that argentines pay almost nothing at all for their natural gas, receiving vast quantities for just pennies every month, at about one-tenth of what the neighbours in Brazil pay? Why are there so few argentines who can understand this?

”Why are there so few argentines who can understand (energy prices increases)?

Indeed, the thought that the sudden increases came on top of higher inflation levels, decreased consumption and job losses would never occur to you.

It would not occur to you that whatever Argentines paid before, sudden increases averaging 500 per cent for electricity, 400 per cent for natural gas and 300 per cent for water are unreasonable--and this would be the case in yours or any country--I know what people in Alberta, Canada would react if that kind of increases were to happen here overnight.

You, being so forthright about the need for others to pay things for what they cost, would be asking at least to have some time to adapt. That is exactly what many people demonstrating on the streets asked.

So far, the government has stubbornly refused to budge. That is why nearly 50 judges across the country have issued rulings suspending the increases.

Last week, after several street demonstrations, the government backtracked and Energy Minister Juan José Aranguren will finally appear tomorrow in front of a Congress committee.

Aranguren has been under fire--but supported by Macri--for approving natural gas hikes without calling for public hearings first, and for importing gas using Chilean ports, paying 128 percent more than the gas the country regularly purchased to Bolivia.

Aranguren, former Dutch Shell CEO, also owes about $1 million dollars in Shell shares.

Forget the silly percentages Reekie, and deal with the real amounts that are paid and what should be paid to come into line with other markets.

Because 400 percent of nothing is still nothing.

Let's put the numbers in dollars and English so that all the world can laugh at just how silly the argies are being over this issue.

Right now, a typical Greater Bs As metrogas monthly residential bill is about 35 argie pesos, or around US$ 2.33

The proposed natural gas rate hike would raise that average monthly gas bill to about US$6.64, taxes included. But the Macri government proposal is to offer incentives for decreased (more efficient) natural gas usage, just as the civilised nations do, which would reduce this amount.

Oh, sniff sniff whimper whimper.

-------

....for importing gas using Chilean ports, paying 128 percent more than the gas the country regularly purchased to Bolivia.

-- You might as well acknowledge that Bolivia could not supply the additional amount of gas and so it had to be bought somewhere, and the Chilean gas pipelines and regasification facilities were already in place.

Of course, if Argie consumers were not so inefficient and wasteful in their use of the natural gas that is gifted to them, these foreign purchases would not be so large.